Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Be present, give thanks.




Sometimes I sit here with the urge to write and I wonder how I should start it off. What headline should I use that grabs the full idea of words coming together? Today the thoughts swimming around in my brain are about this moment right now. Life is crazy and wild and busy. Some days just seem to fly by in a wink. Even years seem to do that.

This crazy busy of life, how do I make the most of it? How do I enjoy each day to the fullest instead of wasting it away on thoughts of the past or hopes of the future? Having small kids I often think, where have the last three years gone? It feels like I just gave birth to my first child, my baby boy and now I have a three year old toddler and a one year old! Time sure does fly! Mothers whose kids have grown and have flown the nest tell me it really does go by so quickly.

I know that I can't stop time or keep my kids small forever. I already think, "I can't imagine my babies being adults and moving out of my house." Yes, they are still so little and that day seems like a lifetime ahead of me, but I want to look back and say that I made the most of every day. Being a parent is the most amazing, terrifying, crazy, wild, sweet, enjoyable, tiring, most fulfilling thing I've ever been blessed to do. There are joys and there are struggles, but I want to be "all here" for all of it.

Life isn't just about "getting it right" or "waiting for the day." No matter what it is we are all working towards, what dreams lie in our hearts or what visions we strive to make a reality, dreams are great and essential! But the joy comes when I learn to appreciate each little moment along the way. The fullness is found in the little setbacks and in the smallest victories.

Learning to be present in whatever life situation I am in, this is where I taste the sweet honey on my lips. For a long time it seemed I was waiting for something big to happen, when sweet little moments of life were happening all around me.

What I know right in this moment is that God is good, he sees the whole picture, he has already blessed me beyond measure, and he just keeps sprinkling little bits of goodness throughout each one of my days. The problem is not that bad stuff keeps happening in our lives, but that we are so focused on those, that we forget to "look" and to "see" all of the good things he gives us each day.

Thank you Jesus for your goodness. Thank you for even your littlest of blessings. Thank you that even when something bad happens or doesn't work out just the way we'd like, you still have a profound way of showing me your divine beauty. This life is but a blink of an eye and one day we will walk the gates of Heaven with you. Thank you for all the ways you are teaching me and molding me in this life. Help me to see your beauty even in the ugliest of days. You are good and your love endures forever!

I recently started reading a book called "One Thousand Gifts" by author Ann Voskamp. It has been helping to spur me on in grasping the beauty of this moment and being thankful for all of the little things, that ultimately, are the big things indeed :)


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